Challenges in achieving low-input, extensive broiler production

Summary

There are hundreds of different poultry production systems around the world. These range from large-scale, intensive, indoor (including cage) systems with fast-growing broilers reaching 3 kg in 30 days (Xu et al., 2025) to slow-growing, backyard broilers reared outdoors in smallholdings, reflecting a broad range of histories and cultures. An example is the change in broiler rearing systems in Europe over the last century. While slow-growing backyard rearing used to be common, food shortages after two world wars led to intensification of production. Improvements in nutrition formulation and genetic selection contributed to developing fast-growing broilers with a dressing percentage (a measure of the amount of edible meat post slaughter) of up to 75% (Sosnówka-Czajka et al., 2023). However, problems such as the extensive use of antibiotics in intensive production, health issues in broilers such as reduced mobility and lameness, and the limited possibilities for birds to express natural behaviours, has, in recent decades, led consumers to favour more extensive methods of production such as organic or free-range systems.